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+--- Thread: Do You Hi-Fi? (/showthread.php?tid=3401)
Do You Hi-Fi? - Freija - 02-25-2026
I'm not really an audiophile and my Hi-Fi system is more like mid-fi but recently finding two lost boxes of about 165 vinyl LPs and not having a turntable inspired me to do some upgrading and reorganizing which turned into an a two+ month long and $1.5K project if you include the TV upgrade and all the bits and bobs involved.
After close to 20 years, I finally dumped my old DLP projection TV for a budget 65” flat screen I had help mounting on the wall but the leftover stand where it stood looked bare so I replaced my old subwoofer with a bigger new one. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPJH8T9N?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
Then it just looked ugly and stupid.
Then I found the boxes of records and that’s when things really took off. I also found 45 cassette tapes which turned into a side project replacing the belts in my ancient dual cassette deck without having a clue what I was doing.
I needed to get a cheap turntable but then needed somewhere to put it besides next to the subwoofer so I bought a cheap rack and repurposed the old TV stand somewhere else. Then I had to modify the rack because the turntable didn’t quite fit and once that was sorted then I needed somewhere to put my records which turned into a woodworking project to make something to put my newly purchased record holders on.
Woodworking (arts & crafts with sawdust) has turned into my main hobby/passion these days of old age so I was really looking forward to this part. I made a plan and started with rough sawn 2” thick knotty alder planks that I milled to usable condition with my jointer, thickness planer and saws.
To make the top I had to glue three boards together. While that was setting up, I made the legs and cut lap joints in the ends. Fortunately the glued-up top came out flat and did not require too much hand planing and sanding to flatten.
Everything was then assembled, stained and sealed with a hard wax oil. The final step was to attach speaker grill cloth to the back side to hide some of the massive wires and cables behind it and give my rear ported sub some room to breathe.
One thing lead to ten others so I decided to paint the boring white wall blue as part of this project.
I do not live in a “normal” house. It was used as an auto and machine shop then as that wound down, as a massive storage unit so my space here is limited. My living room is actually the primary bedroom, the only nice room in the entire house. I sleep in another space with my desk and computers.
When the whole thing finally came together two weeks ago, I was very pleased with my efforts.
In the rack is an entry level turntable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099NXVPNL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title, a mid-90s Technics receiver with 100 RMS watts per channel in stereo and under that is a Windows computer and a Sony DVD/CD player sitting on top of it. Next to it is a Bluetooth receiver thingy. Next shelf down is a cassette deck and on the bottom shelf is an Xbox 360. Rather than a soundbar, the TV plays through the amp and big speakers which makes action movies a great experience.
I have to say this sounds damn good and man, is it rattle the windows and piss off the neighbors loud with sound you can really feel in your body. For old speakers and amp, this setup still rocks.
I still have a few wires to tidy up but I’m really digging the overall look. In a dim room, it creates a fun and immersive ambiance .It's great to be a Boomer and still a kid at heart.
As far as my old records go, some even from the 70s, I’ve put about 40 through the washing and cleaning process so far but unfortunately, a few have been damaged and won’t play and some are well used and scratchy. I was really more interested in the nostalgia of listening to old music but I have found a couple gems worth multiple replays. Some of the disco era albums I’m not even going to bother cleaning. The two record stands I bought hold about 60 albums each and the rest I put in a box.
Physical media, albums and CDs are making a comeback in this era of streaming. I am glad I’ve kept all the ones I’ve ever had especially the 120 or so CDs in my collection. The analog sound of pressed vinyl has its charm along with the physicality involved of playing records but my CDs still sound great and lack the inherent pops and clicks of even fresh vinyl. Speaking of…vinyl records are pretty darned expensive these days and I'm probably not going to be buying them very often.